Alice Pearce
Encyclopedia
Alicia “Alice” Pearce was an American actress. Brought to Hollywood by Gene Kelly
to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town
(1949), Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as Gladys Kravitz
in Bewitched
in 1964. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series posthumously after the second season of the series. She died from ovarian cancer
in 1966.
, Pearce was educated in Europe
and returned to the United States as an adult. She began working in nightclub
s as a comedian
and was cast in the original Broadway
production of On the Town (1944-1946). Gene Kelly
was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the film version
in 1949. Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike, and she was given her own television variety show
. More movie roles followed, and she made appearances on Broadway, where she met her husband, director Paul Davis, during a production of Bells Are Ringing
.
In 1964 she joined the cast of the television series Bewitched
. As the nagging and nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz
, Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to acts of witchcraft
she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery
, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias
), provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. Pearce was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award
for this role.
John Rox. In 1957, Rox died of a heart attack
. In 1964, she married stage manager
Paul Davis. Pearce had no children.
Pearce was also a good friend of actor and photographer Cris Alexander
. When Alexander was working on the illustrations for Patrick Dennis
's bestseller Little Me
he asked Pearce to appear in the work as Winnie, the reform school friend of Belle Poitrine, the biography's subject. She also appeared as several characters in Dennis' and Alexander's later project, First Lady: My Thirty Days at the White House.
After Pearce's death, the role of Gladys Kravitz was played by Sandra Gould.
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
to reprise her Broadway performance in the film version of On the Town
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
(1949), Pearce played comedic supporting roles in several films, before being cast as Gladys Kravitz
Gladys Kravitz
Gladys Kravitz is a fictional character on the American situation comedy Bewitched . Portrayed by Alice Pearce from the show's premiere in 1964 until Pearce's death in 1966 and then by Sandra Gould from 1966 until her last appearance in 1971, Gladys Kravitz is an across-the-street neighbor of the...
in Bewitched
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
in 1964. She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series posthumously after the second season of the series. She died from ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
in 1966.
Early life and career
Born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Pearce was educated in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and returned to the United States as an adult. She began working in nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
s as a comedian
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and was cast in the original Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of On the Town (1944-1946). Gene Kelly
Gene Kelly
Eugene Curran "Gene" Kelly was an American dancer, actor, singer, film director and producer, and choreographer...
was so impressed by her that she became the only cast member to be included in the film version
On the Town (film)
On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage...
in 1949. Her comedic performance was well received by critics and public alike, and she was given her own television variety show
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
. More movie roles followed, and she made appearances on Broadway, where she met her husband, director Paul Davis, during a production of Bells Are Ringing
Bells Are Ringing (musical)
Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...
.
Bewitched
Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban...
. As the nagging and nosy neighbor, Gladys Kravitz
Gladys Kravitz
Gladys Kravitz is a fictional character on the American situation comedy Bewitched . Portrayed by Alice Pearce from the show's premiere in 1964 until Pearce's death in 1966 and then by Sandra Gould from 1966 until her last appearance in 1971, Gladys Kravitz is an across-the-street neighbor of the...
, Pearce's scenes were almost entirely reactions to acts of witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
she had witnessed at the house across the street. Her hysterical accusations against Samantha, played by Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Montgomery
Elizabeth Victoria Montgomery was an American film and television actress whose career spanned five decades. She is perhaps best remembered for her roles as Samantha Stephens in Bewitched, as Ellen Harrod in A Case of Rape and as Lizzie Borden in The Legend of Lizzie Borden.-Early life:Born in Los...
, and the disbelief of her husband Abner (George Tobias
George Tobias
George Tobias was an American character actor.-Early life and career:Born to a Jewish family in New York, he began his acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse in Pasadena, California. He then spent several years in theater groups before moving on to Broadway and, eventually, Hollywood...
), provided a common thread through many of the series' early episodes. Pearce was posthumously awarded an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for this role.
Personal life
Pearce was married twice; in 1948, she married composerComposer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
John Rox. In 1957, Rox died of a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. In 1964, she married stage manager
Stage management
Stage management is the practice of organizing and coordinating a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including organizing the production and coordinating communications between various personnel...
Paul Davis. Pearce had no children.
Pearce was also a good friend of actor and photographer Cris Alexander
Cris Alexander
Cris Alexander is an American actor, singer, dancer, designer, and photographer.-Acting career:As an actor he co-starred as Chip in the original Broadway cast of On the Town. Subsequent Broadway appearances included Present Laughter opposite Clifton Webb, Wonderful Town, and Auntie Mame. Mr...
. When Alexander was working on the illustrations for Patrick Dennis
Patrick Dennis
Patrick Dennis was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes "Patrick" recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis...
's bestseller Little Me
Little Me
Little Me was the parody "confessional" self-indulgent autobiography of "Belle Poitrine" , subtitled The Intimate Memoirs of the Great Star of Stage, Screen and Television, by Patrick Dennis, who had achieved a great success with Auntie Mame...
he asked Pearce to appear in the work as Winnie, the reform school friend of Belle Poitrine, the biography's subject. She also appeared as several characters in Dennis' and Alexander's later project, First Lady: My Thirty Days at the White House.
Death
Pearce was diagnosed with terminal cancer before Bewitched began. Pearce kept her illness a secret but died from ovarian cancer during the second season of the series at age 48. Pearce was cremated and her ashes were scattered at sea.After Pearce's death, the role of Gladys Kravitz was played by Sandra Gould.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | On the Town On the Town (film) On the Town is a 1949 musical film with music by Leonard Bernstein and Roger Edens and book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It is an adaptation of the Broadway stage musical of the same name produced in 1944, although many changes in script and score were made from the original stage... |
Lucy Shmeeler | |
| 1952 | The Belle of New York The Belle of New York The Belle of New York is a 1952 Hollywood musical comedy film set in New York circa 1900 and stars Fred Astaire, Vera-Ellen, Alice Pearce, Marjorie Main and Keenan Wynn, with music by Harry Warren and lyrics by Johnny Mercer... |
Elsie Wilkins | |
| 1955 | How to Be Very, Very Popular | Miss "Syl" Sylvester | |
| 1956 | The Opposite Sex The Opposite Sex The Opposite Sex is a 1956 musical film.It is a remake of the 1939 classic comedy The Women. Both films are based on Claire Boothe Luce's original play... |
Olga | |
| 1962 | Lad: A Dog | Hilda, the Nurse | |
| 1963 | My Six Loves My Six Loves My Six Loves is a 1963 comedy film starring Debbie Reynolds as a Broadway star who takes a vacation and finds herself responsible for six abandoned children, in Gower Champion's directorial debut... |
Bus Driver | |
| Tammy and the Doctor | Millie Baxter, Nurse | ||
| The Thrill of It All The Thrill of It All The Thrill of It All is a romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison starring Doris Day, James Garner, Arlene Francis, and ZaSu Pitts. The screenplay was written by Larry Gelbart and Carl Reiner... |
Irving's wife | ||
| 1964 | Dear Heart | Miss Moore | |
| The Disorderly Orderly The Disorderly Orderly The Disorderly Orderly is a 1964 American comedy film released by Paramount Pictures, and starring Jerry Lewis. The film was produced by Paul Jones with a screenplay by director Frank Tashlin, based on a story by Norm Liebermann and Ed Haas.-Plot:... |
Miss Fuzzibee, Talkative Patient | ||
| Kiss Me, Stupid Kiss Me, Stupid Kiss Me, Stupid is a 1964 American comedy film directed by Billy Wilder and starring Dean Martin, Kim Novak, and Ray Walston.The screenplay by Wilder and I.A.L. Diamond is based on Wife For a Night , an Italian film starring Gina Lollobrigida -- which was itself taken from a play by Anna Bonacci... |
Mrs. Mulligan | ||
| 1965 | Dear Brigitte Dear Brigitte Dear Brigitte is a 1965 American family-comedy starring James Stewart and directed by Henry Koster.-Plot:Stewart stars as an American college professor with a genius son, the precocious Erasmus . After using his skills for gambling at the horse track, Erasmus becomes infatuated with model and... |
Unemployment Office Clerk | |
| Bus Riley's Back in Town | Housewife | ||
| 1966 | The Glass Bottom Boat The Glass Bottom Boat The Glass Bottom Boat is an 1966 American romantic comedy movie directed by Frank Tashlin; it is also considered by some people to be musical entertainment. This movie features Doris Day and Rod Taylor as the main entertainers, with assistance from actors Arthur Godfrey and Paul Lynde... |
Mabel Fenimore | Alternative title: The Spy in Lace Panties |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1949 | The Alice Pearce Show | Host | Unknown episodes |
| 1951 | Goodyear Television Playhouse Goodyear Television Playhouse The Goodyear Television Playhouse produced live television dramas from 1951 to 1957 during the "Golden Age of Television".Sponsored by Goodyear, the hour-long anthology series was telecast Sundays at 9pm on NBC... |
1 episode | |
| 1952–1953 | Broadway Television Theatre | 2 episodes | |
| 1953 | The Jean Carroll Show | The Neighbor | Uncredited, 1 episode |
| The Motorola Television Hour The Motorola Television Hour The Motorola Television Hour was an hour-long anthology series which alternated bi-weekly with The United States Steel Hour on ABC. The show premiered on November 3, 1953 and was last aired on June 1, 1954. It was sponsored by Motorola.-External links:... |
Hagga | 1 episode | |
| 1953–1954 | Jamie Jamie (TV series) Jamie is a sitcom television series, created by David Susskind's Talent Associates, that was telecast live in the United States of America by ABC-TV from October 5, 1953, until October 4, 1954. The series was the result of the success of the pilot, an episode of the ABC Album/Plymouth Playhouse... |
Annie Moakum | 3 episodes |
| 1955 | Studio One | Regina | 1 episode |
| Alice in Wonderland | Dormouse Dormouse (Alice's Adventures in Wonderland) The Dormouse is a character in "A Mad Tea-Party", Chapter VII from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. He sat between the March Hare and the Hatter... |
Television movie | |
| Kraft Television Theatre Kraft Television Theatre Kraft Television Theatre is an American drama/anthology television series that began May 7, 1947 on NBC, airing at 7:30pm on Wednesday evenings until December of that year. In January 1948, it moved to 9pm on Wednesdays, continuing in that timeslot until 1958. Initially produced by the J... |
1 episode | ||
| 1955–1959 | Hallmark Hall of Fame Hallmark Hall of Fame Hallmark Hall of Fame is an anthology program on American television, sponsored by Hallmark Cards, a Kansas City based greeting card company. The second longest-running television program in the history of television, it has a historically long run, beginning in 1951 and continuing into 2011... |
Dormouse Miss Talmay |
2 episodes |
| 1959 | The Real McCoys The Real McCoys The Real McCoys is an American situation comedy co-produced by Danny Thomas' "Marterto Productions", in association with Walter Brennan and Irving Pincus's "Westgate" company... |
Emmy | 1 episode |
| 1960–1961 | Shirley Temple's Storybook Shirley Temple's Storybook Shirley Temple's Storybook is an American children's anthology series hosted and narrated by Shirley Temple. The series features adaptations of fairy tales and other family-oriented stories performed by well-known actors, although one episode, an adaptation of The House of the Seven Gables, was... |
Rebecca Goblin Queen |
2 episodes |
| 1961 | The Twilight Zone The Twilight Zone The Twilight Zone is an American television anthology series created by Rod Serling. Each episode is a mixture of self-contained drama, psychological thriller, fantasy, science fiction, suspense, or horror, often concluding with a macabre or unexpected twist... |
Mrs. Nielsen | 1 episode Static (The Twilight Zone) "Static" is an episode of the American television anthology series The Twilight Zone.-Opening narration:As Ed Lindsay retrieves his old radio from the boarding house basement, he says to a boy watching him, "Don't you know what a radio is?". "Sure", says the kid, "but I've never seen one like that ... |
| The Ann Sothern Show The Ann Sothern Show The Ann Sothern Show is an American sitcom starring Ann Sothern that aired on CBS for 93 episodes. The series began on October 6, 1958, and ended on September 25, 1961. The Ann Sothern Show was Sothern's second sitcom for CBS... |
Ethel | 2 episodes | |
| Look Up and Live | Miss Flip | 1 episode | |
| 1962 | General Electric Theater General Electric Theater General Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:... |
Mrs. Ledbetter | 1 episode |
| Dennis the Menace | Miss Tarbell | 2 episodes | |
| 1963 | The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1959 to 1963. The series and some episode scripts were adapted from a 1951 collection of short stories of the same name, written by Max Shulman, that also inspired the 1953 film The Affairs of Dobie Gillis with Debbie... |
Ma Baker | 1 episode |
| The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show The Donna Reed Show is an American sitcom starring Donna Reed as the upper middle class housewife Donna Stone. Carl Betz appears as her pediatrician husband Alex, and Shelley Fabares and Paul Petersen as their teenage children Mary and Jeff. The show originally aired on ABC at 10 pm from September... |
Adele | 1 episode | |
| The Alfred Hitchcock Hour Alfred Hitchcock Presents Alfred Hitchcock Presents is an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers, and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over three decades... |
Haila French | 1 episode | |
| 1964–1966 | Bewitched Bewitched Bewitched is an American situation comedy originally broadcast for eight seasons on ABC from 1964 to 1972, starring Elizabeth Montgomery, Dick York and Dick Sargent , Agnes Moorehead, and David White. The show is about a witch who marries a mortal and tries to lead the life of a typical suburban... |
Gladys Kravitz | 27 episodes |
| 1967 | Vacation Playhouse | Music Teacher | 1 episode Aired posthumously |
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Series |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Emmy Award Emmy Award An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various... |
Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Comedy | Bewitched |
| 2003 | TV Land Awards TV Land Awards The TV Land Awards is an American television awards ceremony that generally commemorates shows now off the air, rather than in current production as with awards such as the Emmys. It is presented in a manner that spoofs other entertainment award ceremonies... |
Nosiest Neighbor |